RPI wasted little time on Sunday, firing seven shots off in the first eleven minutes of action against the State University of New York Geneseo. Five of the shots were corralled by Geneseo goalie Dayna Mercer and the other two missed their mark. Then the pace of play slowed down. Geneseo managed three consecutive shots of their own in a fourteen minute span, including two in the 28th minute. Senior goalie Hannah Clough made a key save and the other was knocked down by a defender shortly thereafter. Clough also made saves in the 32nd and 34th minutes to keep the game tied at zero. Right before the half, RPI junior attack Hana Murphy slapped two shots on goal but both were stopped by Mercer to maintain the tie.
Rensselaer outshot Geneseo 12-5 in the opening period but had obtained nothing to show for it. This changed almost immediately in the second half. With little more than two minutes gone by in the second half, Mercer left the net to get a loose ball. Murphy got there first though and passed to senior attack Molly Zuk who flicked the ball in the unattended goal to give the Engineers a 1-0 lead. Then, five minutes later, freshman attack Jena Nawfel scored unassisted from the top of the circle to pad RPI’s lead to 2-0.
Starting with two failed shot attempts in the 46th minute, Geneseo fought valiantly to make a comeback, outshooting the Engineers 12-3 in the final 25 minutes. Several shots were blocked by defenders or missed wide. The rest were collected by Clough, who made seven saves in the second half, including four in the final two and a half minutes, to finish with a ten-save shutout.
This Saturday, field hockey travels north to take on the St. Lawrence University Saints in hopes of extending their two-game winning streak.